[TamilNet, Monday, 31 July 2017, 22:36 GMT]Divisional Secretaries, who have been defending the interests of Tamil land-owners in Batticaloa District in the Eastern Province, continue to face harassment from the Colombo-centric administrative system with transfers, according to Tamil civil sources in the district. Ali Zazhir Mouland, a UNP parliamentarian elected with the votes from Tamils, has been instrumental in influencing SL Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe in transferring two divisional secretaries in recent months, civil sources in Batticaloa revealed. Politicians aligned with UNP and SLFP are competing with each other in exploiting the resources of Eezham Tamils in the East. Amidst the competition, certain parliamentarians have become more powerful than SL ministers as far as the Eastern Province is concerned, the Tamil officials commented.

Last month, two divisional secretaries who refused to collaborate with the plans being proposed by influential politicians aligned with the UNP, have been transferred away from their administrative divisions. UNP parliamentarian Seyed Ali Zahir Moulana was behind the harassment, the civil sources said.

Ms R. Rakulanayaki, who has been defending the land rights of the people at her administrative division of Koa'ra'laip-pattu North (Vaakarai), has been transferred to SL Ministry of Public Administration and Management by the SL regime through the SL Government Agent of Batticaloa. She has been defending the rights of land-owners when Colombo's ministers and the occupying SL military were trying to create Sinhala settlements in the traditional Tamil region of Vaakarai.

Recently, Mr Ali Zahir Moulana was also exerting pressure on her to carve out 1,500 acres of lands for his supporters.

Similarly, Mr Uthayasri, who was the Divisional Secretary of Ea'raavoor-pattu (Chengkaladi), has been transferred away from his administrative division.

Uthyakumar has been confronting the plans by Mr Moulana, who was trying to allocate 1,000 acres of lands in Punnaik-kudaa and Tha'lavaay for his supporters.

While parliamentarians and ministers of the UNP and SLFP have been competing with each other for seizing the lands of Eezham Tamils in Batticaloa, SL President Maithiripala Sirisena appointed former SL Foreign Minister Rohita Bogollogama (SLFP), a Sinhalese who hails from North Western Province as the colonial governor to Eastern Province, replacing Austin Fernando (UNP), who was a former defence secretary in the UNP regime.

Sirisena's move aims to accelerate Sinhala colonisation and structural genocide against Eezham Tamils through so-called ‘development’, ‘environment’ and ‘tourism’ according to Sirisena's ‘Polonnaruwa Thinking’, the civil sources further commented.

Rohitha Bogollagama has already schemed exploitation of coastal areas of Eezham Tamils in Trincomalee and Batticaloa.

Austin Fernando is now serving Maithiripala as his secretary from Colombo.